The Great Gatsby - About
Nick Carraway

Despite the title, Nick Carraway is the
first character we meet, and appropriately his role in The
Great Gatsby is crucial; without him the story would lack
balance and insight. The first chapter is primarily dedicated
to establishing his personality and position in the book, then
moving on to Tom and Daisy. Nick is our guide in The Great
Gatsby; he relates the story as he has seen it and from what
others have told him. He strives at all times to be objective
and to make balanced comments just as he said in the beginning
of the book, 'I'm inclined to reserve all judgements.' The
role of Nick Carraway is so important to the book that the
character of Jay Gatsby could not exist. His objectivity is
reinforced throughout to us by his scorn of Gatsby which
becomes known to the reader when he says he, 'represented
everything for which I have unaffected scorn.' He registers
contempt for much of what Gatsby stands for; the falseness,
the criminality, but he still likes him. His ability to laugh
at Gatsby and his false beliefs shows he's neither charmed not
wholly disgusted by Gatsby. Nick's amusingly contemptuous
remarks show his sense of humor, and although he is
straight-laced, he does not bore the reader. Fitzgerald tells
the audience of his age, thirty, which makes the them take his
opinions seriously, as he is not some immature man. Nick is
introduced directly, but Gatsby remains a distant and unknown
character for a good while. The establishment of Nick's
reflective, tolerant personality is essential, as are his
limitations, so we just don't dismiss him as a character
speaking the words and feelings of the author. The fact that
he disapproves of Gatsby so early on helps us to go along with
his judgements when he tells us of Gatsby and unfolds the
story. Nick is unlike the other characters of the book; he is
not one of the 'careless people.' He has a conscience, he is
not selfish, and he has decency that is well demonstrated in
his efforts for Gatsby's funeral. His down to earth character
shows how superficial Daisy and Tom are. Daisy and Tom are
ruthlessly practical, where Gatsby's just a dreamer. Nick
guides us between these two extremes, an indifferent observer
while being involved in the action. This is evident when Nick
said, 'I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and
repelled by! the inexhaustible variety of life.' Nick's aim to
be truthful and objective makes the reader trust him. When he
says that Gatsby has a 'rare smile with a quality of eternal
reassurance in it,' we know Nick isn't being charmed by his
riches or parties; but is telling it to us straight. His
contempt for much of what Gatsby says, but also Nick's
tolerance, is emphasized when Nick doesn't mock him. The
reader has no choice but to become acquainted with Nick. The
other characters lack the dimension for us to trust them,
which is what Fitzgerald is trying to demonstrate. Seeing
Gatsby through Nick's eyes makes the reader sympathize with
him and his unattainable life long dream. Without Nick we
would perceive Gatsby as a corrupt mad man trying to disrupt
an old girlfriend's life. This would not be the whole truth
and not what Fitzgerald would want us to see. While Gatsby and
what he stands for is clearly the focus of the book, there is
an argument for saying that Nick is the main character. Gatsby
doesn't speak till the third chapter and he dies after
three-quarters of the book. Nick is the more in depth
character and since practically every part of the story is
related to us with his thoughts and his perceptions, it is
hard for him not to be. He is the character the reader leaves
the story feeling they understand and whose actions and
judgements they support, unlike Gatsby. He is the narrator but
his involvement in the events, no matter how much he tries to
stay objective, make a difference. Fitzgerald sets up Nick
Carraway's role as a character in his own right, not just
Fitzgerald's mouthpiece.